Saint James Transition Committee
Kathy Graham – Chair of Transition Committee
St. James Transition committee- Who are we and what do we do? Have you wondered these questions the last few months? During the last year of my term on vestry and as senior warden I met with Rob for many weekly meetings to discuss and prepare for his retirement. These discussions raised many questions and many “ I wonder” statements as we thought about all the things that is takes to lead a parish . And the main question was “how can the vestry and the senior warden keep things rolling as well as normal vestry duties? Then Rob said “ I wonder if we had an additional committed group – a transition committee -that focuses on all the aspects of the transition time period- retirement, interim , calling of new rector and transition of new rector”? With further discussion we decided this was worth a try and the committee would function alongside the vestry and search committee and always at the discretion of the vestry and senior warden.
Our first tasks were to organize , plan and implement celebrations for Judy and Rob and Betsy. Each event had a sub- group that worked on each party and another group worked with Rob, Larry, and Randy to learn and document all ins and outs around the church campus- inside and out. Jill Hiers has been compiling all the details for things around the buildings and grounds, maintenance and repair history and timelines including things that Rob tended to or knew about that others may not . These have been compiled into digital files and spreadsheets that Jennifer will have on her computer and the vestry will have access . We wanted to make sure we had all areas covered- building and grounds, worship, pastoral care, outreach , administration, etc. so that no area of our life as a parish fell through the cracks during our time without a full-time rector. We’ve been blessed with a wonderful interim that will lead and guide us in these areas over the next few months.
Rob’s vision was our committee could be of help to the vestry and take some tasks off of their plate. Our latest project was to prepare the rectory for Bob and Kay before they arrived. We stocked the kitchen with basic kitchen supplies, hung beautiful artwork on loan from some of our own talented artists, gathered , moved and set up furniture ,prepared a welcome basket and tried to make it a home away from home that was inviting, cheery and comfortable.
This transition committee has been hard at work and continues to be in many areas besides these mentioned and have included other members of our parish to help. We meet about every three weeks so if you have any suggestions or questions for us please let us know. This is a dedicated group that loves our church and the people of St. James and are committed to keeping our ministries active, people engaged and cared for, and our buildings and grounds in order and all visitors welcomed during our time of transition as we all continue to follow our call to be disciples of Christ.
Committee members are Sarah Clegg, Barry Boddie, Rodney Meadows, Leslie Loftis, Dick Chambliss, Scotti Bozeman. Martha Tucker, Mark Tucker , Wayne Fuller, Jill Hiers, Kathy Graham
Farewell Coffee Hour
Saint James Rectory
